Cheney to Speak at Republican Convention

By Dan Eggen
Vice President Cheney will speak at the Republican convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul on the same day as President Bush, contrary to reports earlier in the week that he was not seeking a slot at the gathering, officials said today.

"The Vice President looks forward to participating in the Republican National Convention and continuing to work for the election of Senator McCain and other Republican candidates in the coming months," Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said.

The announcement suggests the controversial vice president's enduring popularity within the Republican base overcame concerns from some GOP insiders that his appearance would pose a political complication for McCain, who has sought mightily to distance himself from the current White House.

Sen. Barack Obama and other Democrats, meanwhile, have consistently sought to tie McCain to the deeply unpopular president, labeling him "McSame" and running commercials that show McCain praising Bush. Earlier this week, Democrats also unveiled a Web site called "The Next Cheney," comparing possible McCain running mates to the current vice president.

Republican sources said earlier this week that Cheney was not scheduled to appear at the convention, while his office said the matter was undecided.

Under the plans announced today, Cheney would speak on Sept. 1, the same day that President Bush is scheduled to deliver a nighttime address. First Lady Laura Bush will also give her own short address that night, but she will not introduce her husband, White House officials have said. Mitchell said the time of Cheney's appearance remains to be decided.

As for McCain, it is unclear whether he will cross paths with either the president or Cheney at the convention. McCain and Cheney have not appeared together at all since the Arizona senator clinched the GOP nomination, while Bush and McCain have not been seen together publicly since a fleeting May embrace on the airport tarmac in Phoenix.

the pictures of Bush & Cheney both speaking with the huge adoring GOP crowds conjures up aa wonderful image for all at the upcoming GOP convention.. it makes for wonderful candid videos to use as DEM ads in the fall to remind voters that the very same braintrusts that supported and elected 2x GWB & COmpany are the same people who want to elect MCCAIN... GOP will take years to recover form this idiot's mistakes

Hey this is great news. Allowing this dangerouss iditot to even utter a few incomprehensible statements will serve to rally the exploading number of Democratic voters to go to the voting booths un numbers never seen in history. The Repuke Party has done the nation and the world a great favor. I'm sure it will remind the religious kooks and racists of the good old days (jeez, remember the '50's when Negroes rode in the back of the bus?), and it will remind the rest of us how many of our kids have died so this traitor and his cowardly buddies could make lot's of money.

I can honestly say thanks. Bush and Chaney have set the Republicans back ten, twenty years. Please, any chance you could both go at the same time. Let's get a nice picture of the two with McCain. Two war mongers who have practically bankrupted this country and put our troops in harms way, fighting a never ending war on terror. WHEN WILL WE KNOW WE WON? W--------D-I-C-K--Who has to surrender for us to win? I'll simplify, who has to surrender in Iraq for us to win? We have been fighting the WAR ON DRUGS for thirty, forty years--still fighting. That's why this WAR ON TERROR CAN NEVER BE WON, contained yes, but won--How? THERE WILL ALWAYS BE TERRORISTS--

I can honestly say thanks. Bush and Chaney have set the Republicans back ten, twenty years. Please, any chance you could both go at the same time. Let's get a nice picture of the two with McCain. Two war mongers who have practically bankrupted this country and put our troops in harms way, fighting a never ending war on terror. WHEN WILL WE KNOW WE WON? W--------D-I-C-K--Who has to surrender for us to win? I'll simplify, who has to surrender in Iraq for us to win? We have been fighting the WAR ON DRUGS for thirty, forty years--still fighting. That's why this WAR ON TERROR CAN NEVER BE WON, contained yes, but won--How? THERE WILL ALWAYS BE TERRORISTS--